What do faculty expect from Instructional Technologists?

Printer-friendly versionSend by emailI would like to begin a discussion on what faculty at higher ed institutions want/need from instructional technologists- if that position exists at their colleges/universities.

The expansion of e-learning in our information technology makes the faculty at colleges, universities, and districts of school focuses on how instructional designer can produce effective computer- based instructional materials that serves students as well as educators. Actually, the faculty at these educational institutions expect from instructional designers many functions such as:
• Producing effective presentation of content that serves the learner’s needs and enhances their interaction
• Implementing effective materials that depend on learning theories to ensure the quality of instruction
• Organizing the subject content in good manner to follow it easily.
• Developing instructional materials and the activities, and then making evaluations to ensure if they meet the goals of the course and the learners’ needs or not.
So, it is clear that the success of e-learning depends on designing effective learning enhanced by the use of technology which is the responsiplaty of the instructional designer.
Source
“Instructional Design in Elearning” by George Siemens (2002). Available at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/InstructionalDesign.htm
Ranyah

I actually have a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology. Instructional design is not a new profession. It's foundations can be traced back to ancient times, however, contemporary instructional design is primarily traced back to the work of Robert Gagné when there was a need for systematic process for developing training for the military personnel during WWII. 60-75% (if not more) of instructional technology is instructional design. The "techies" that create media content are programmers, not instructional designers (in general). Instructional designers and technologists typically view instructional technology as processes; not just hardware and software. In addition, instructional designers/technologists place learning and instructional practice as a foundation for how staff development and technology integration is designed. This is more reason why instructional designers/technologists are needed for K-12 and higher education faculty development. Programmers may know how to develop media content for a variety of learning environments, however, their expertise is, for the most part, not in effective integration for classroom use (face-to-face or virtual).

Who's online

There are currently 0 users and 8 guests online.

Do you have your EdTechTalk stuff yet? Did you know there are T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, buttons, magnets, and tote bags available? They're all based on Wordle interpretations of the EdTechTalk Delicious tags.

What are you waiting for? These are limited edition items. Shop now and avoid the rush!